Apparatus for twisting and winding multi-ply strands



15, 1958 R. s. OWENS APPARATUS FOR TWISTING AND WIN A MULTI-PLY STRANDS Original Filed Nov. 12. 1953 2,842,931 DING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR source of heated air- Robert, Stuart Owens July 15, "1958 1 s. OWENS APPARATUS F R TWISTING AND WINDING MULTI-PLY STRANDS 2' Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed NOV. 12. 1953 m e m 7 oi 1 d I a w 6 F m m. U 0 9 v m o 0 m 2 7 9 INVENTOR Robert Stuart Gmezzs Qi 6M2 APPARATUS FOR TWISTING AN D WINDING MULTI-PLY STRANDS Robert Stuart (Ewens, Charlottesville, Va.

@riginai application November 12, 1953, Serial No. 391,439, new Patent No. 2,800,761, dated July 30, 1957. Divided and this application May 16, 1957, Serial No. 659,618

13 Claims. (Cl. 57=--1) The present invention relates to apparatus for making coated multi-ply twisted strands or threads and more particularity to a mechanism for twisting a plurality of plies together to form a unitary strand and for winding this strand on a spool or the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus for twisting a plurality of plies or strands together to form a unitary multi-ply strand, which apparatus is reversible in operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved mechanism for winding thread-like strands in uniform layers or runs on spools or the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved thread or strand twisting and winding mechanism, including parts upon which centrifugal force is operative throughout the period of operation thereof, and mechanism for resolving the centrifugal force acting on these parts to insure movement of the strand receiving spool at uniform velocity back and forth while strand is being wound so that strand will be wound in uniform layers or runs.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved strand twisting and winding mechanism which is inexpensive to manufacture and simple and sturdy in construction so that it is easy to operate and maintain but which, nevertheless, is extremely reliable in operation.

These and other objects, advantages, and capabilities of the invention will become apparent from the following description wherein reference is bad to the accompanying drawing in which: r

Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic side elevational view of an apparatus for making multi-ply coated twisted thread-like strand from a plurality of plies or strands of glass fiber;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the strand twisting and winding mechanism forming part of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of a cam forming part of the mechanism shown in Figs. 3 and 4; and

Fig. 7 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation taken on the line 7--7 of Fig. 3.

The present application is a division of my copending application for patent Serial No. 391,439, filed November 12, 1953, for an Apparatus For Making Coated Fiber Glass Strands, now Patent No. 2,800,761, which discloses and claims apparatus and a method for making coated mnlti-ply fiber glass strands, the separate plies of'which are twisted together during the course of the fabrication thereof. The present application is limited to the mechanism disclosed in my aforementioned application for patent for twisting together the separate plies from which United States Patent 0 M 2,842,931- Patented July 15, 1958 a strand is formed after they have been coated and for then winding the strand thus formed on spools or the like. For this reason the mechanism disclosed in my aforesaid application for patent for coating the separate plies in a strand and for priming the same prior to coating will be only briefly described.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noted that the apparatus for making coated fiber glass strands includes a spool or spindle holder 10 on which spools wound with piles or strands of untreated fiber glass are held, three spools 12 being shown by way of example. The three untreated plies 14, 16, and 18 on these spools are led through suitable guide structure generally indicated at 20 into a priming bath 22.

From the priming bath, the three plies, 14, 16, and 18 are led through an elongated vertically extending drying chamber 24 heated by a suitable source of hot air 26, a wiper 28 being provided in advance of the entrance to the drying chamber for removing fuzz from the plies 14, 16, and 18.

Beyond the outlet of the drying chamber 24, the dry plies 14, 16, and 18 are directed into a bath 30 of the desired coating material. Suitable mechanism is provided for controlling the thickness of the coat applied to the plies and for insuring uniformity in the thickness of the coating, such mechanism being disclosed in my aforesaid application for patent.

The coated plies 14, 16, and 18 pass from the coating bath 30 into an elongated vertically extending drying or vulcanizing chamber 32, which may be heated by conventional heating equipment, such as infra-red heating units 34. These units may be supplied with current through a line 36 which has a manual switch 38 and a rheostat 40 therein for controlling the current to the heating units 34. Suitable temperature indicating apparatus 42 may also be provided.

Passage of the separate strands or plies 14, 16, and 18 through the apparatus hereinbefore discribed is eifected by the pull exerted thereon by the strand twisting and winding mechanism which constitutes the subject matter of the present application. In addition, this mechanism twists the separate plies toget ier shortly after they emerge from the coating bath 30 to form a single unitary tripleply strand 44 (Fig 2).

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the strand twisting and winding mechanism comprises supporting structure such as the bench-like stand 46 which may be made from structural steel elements. Suitable brackets 48 on the stand 46 support a vertically arranged variable speed reversible motor 50 having a reversing switch and conventional speed-control equipment 52. A sheave 54 is secured to the outer end of the drive shaft of the motor 50 to drive a V-belt 56, which is trained over a larger sheave 58 to rotate the twister-winder mechanism upon a vertical axis which coincides in direction with the direction of the path of travel of the triple-ply strand 44. Fixed on the top side of stand 46 is a flat plate 60 which supports a ball bearing (not shown) and a commutator consisting of two hollow copper rings 62, 64 between which a Bakelite or other insulating ring 66 is interposed. It will be understood that plate 60, the ball bearing and the commutator ringshave vertically aligned apertures to permit the coated twisted triple-ply strand 44 to travel upwardly through these apertures and to be wound on a suitable spindle or spool 70 in a strand winding assembly 72.

Fixed to the top of the commutator is a hollow shaft 74 (Fig. 3), which rotata'bly supports a horizontal arm 76, several bolts 78 making the connection. A glass tube 80 is secured in the center of the hollow shaft 74 to form a vertical guide for the strand 44 which is drawn through the tube 80 when the spool rotates on its axis, this axis being perpendicular to the axis at the'hollow 3 shaft 74. Glass tube 80 should have both its ends fired and flared to avoid damage to the strand passing through the same.

Secured to one end of the arm 76 by means of a bracket 82 is an electric spool winding motor 34 arranged so that its shaft is vertically disposed. Motor 84 is energized through wires 86 which extend along arm 76 toward the copper rings 62, 64 in the commutator to which they are electrically connected. The commutater rings are energized through carbon brushes can ried by a Bakelite brush holder 99 (Fig. l), and these brushes are connected by conductors 92 to a source of current through the switch 52, for example, so that motors 59 and 84 may be simultaneously energized. Suitable conventional controls may be provided to vary the speed of strand winding motor 8 3. For example, motor 84 may be direct current driven, and a rheostat, not shown, may be placed in its circuit.

A speed reducer 4 (Figs. 3 and 4) preferably built into the casing of strand winding motor 84 drives a shaft 96 extending horizontally above arm 76 at a suitably low speed, between 36 R. P. M. and 100 R. P. 'M., for example Shaft 96 is connected by a coupling 93 to a second shaft 100 which is rotatably supported adjacent one of its ends by a bearing member 162 rockably supported in the two arms of a yolk 164 that is adjustably supported upon the topside of arm 76. it is rotatably supported adjacent its opposite end in a similar manneryby a yolk 1&6 also adjustably supported upon the arm 76. Shaft 1% has a squared, hexagonal or other non-circular portion 108 adapted slidably to fit into a complementary bore in the strand winding assembly 72, so that rotary motion of the shaft 1% is imparted to the strand winding assembly but the latter is free to slide axially or in an endwise direction upon the shaft 1%. A compression coil spring 110 which is carried on the polygonal portion 1% of the shaft abuts at opposite ends against the bearing 192 and the strand winding assembly 72, so that the latter is lightly urged to the right as seen in Figs. 3 and 4.

In addition to the spool 70, the strand winding assembly 72 includes a circular cam follower plate 112. These two parts are connected together 'by bolts 114 and are held in spaced relation by spacers 116 on these bolts. Since the spools 76 may be made from wood, plastics, or paper products, and cam follower plate 112, spacers 116 and bolts 114 are made of metal, the center of gravity of the strand winding assembly is adjacent the end thereof at which the cam follower plate is located fora purpose to be described.

The strand winding assembly 72 is moved axially in a direction opposed to the direction in which the spring 110 biases it by a generally heart-shaped cam 118, fixedly mounted on one end of a shaft 120 rotatable upon an axis lying in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the strand Winding assembly 72.

The cam shaft 120 is rotatably supported in a generally U-shaped bracket 122 fixed to the topside of arm 76. It is rotatably driven by the drive shaft 190 for the thread winding assembly 72 through a worm 124 on this shaft and a worm wheel 126 on the cam shaft 126, so that the cam shaft and the cam 118 are rotated at a relatively low speed when the shaft 100 is driven.

A plurality of weights 128 is bolted on the extreme right-hand end of arm 76, as seen in Fig. 3, to balance the assembly. Individual weights may be added to or removed from the arm to obtain a good dynamic balance.

With the parts arranged as described, it is possible to remove the spool 70 after it is completely wound, but only by dismounting the shaft which would be a tedious procedure. Obviously, the spool should be, and in practice it will be, easily mounted and dismounted by'hand, so that an empty spool may be substituted for one that has been fully wound. There aremany known ways of accomplishing this desirable result, but as such constructions lie outside the scope of the present invention, none of them is shown pr described herein.

Operation Initially, the separate plies 14, 16, and 18 forming the unitary twisted strand 44 must be fed through the machine by hand, and a sufiicient length wound on the spool 74 to insure that winding will continue once the machine is started in spite of the drag on strand 4-4 which is being wound occasioned by the fact that the winding mechanism is the sole means for moving the individual plies or strands through the machine. After this has been done, automatic operation of the device may be initiated by closing the switch 52. This energizes the m tor 5t which thereupon rotates the hollow shaft 74 the commutator rings 62, 64 and arm 76 which are ied thereby. It is this rotational movement of arm '76 which twists the separate plies 14, 16, and 18 into a single unitary strand after they emerge from the coating bath 3% as seen in Fig. 2.

Current is supplied to the commutators 62, 64 through the conductors 92 and brushes 88. Since these commutators are connected to the conductors 36, the spool winding motor 84 will be energized, thus causing the drive shafts 96, 190 and the strand winding assembly 72 to be rotated in a direction to wind strand on the spool at the same time that the arm 76 is being rotated to twist the individual plies 14, 16, and 18 together into the single unitary strand 44. If spool 70 is one inch in diameter, for example, arm 76 may be rotated at 314 R. P. M. to give three turns or twists per inch to the strand 44, or at a higher rate of speed to yield a strand having a tighter twist.

Rotation of the drive shaft drives the cam shaft 120 and the cam 118 at a relatively low speed. By virtue of the contour of the cam 118, and the fact that the strand winding assembly 72 is constantly urged axially in a direction to hold the cam follower plate 112 in abutting engagement with the cam 118, as explained hereinafter, the strand winding assembly 72 and spool 70 will be shifted axially of the drive shaft 100 between fixed positions determined by the throw of the cam at a uniform velocity. During the course of this movement of the strand winding assembly 72, the strand receiving area of the spool 70 is fed back and forth along the axis of arm 76, so that strand drawn through the axially disposed guide tube 80 will be wound in uniform layers or runs on spool 70.

Because the center of gravity of the strand winding assembly 72 is adjacent to cam follower plate 112, and this assembly never moves far enough axially in the normal operation of the device to shift the follower plate 112 across the axis of the hollow shaft 74 and arm 7 6, as indicated in Fig. 3 where the extreme left-hand position of strand winding assembly is shown in phantom, the assemr bly will be constantly urged in one direction by centrifugal force, i. e., in a direction to bring the cam follower plate 112 into abutting engagement with cam 118. Coil spring maintains the strand winding assembly 72 in this position when it is at rest, or is rotating very slowly.

While a device has been shown and described for making triple-ply strand, it is to be understood that this is illustrative only, and that the device could be readily adapted for twisting more than three plies. Moreover, the plies making up a'strand could themselves be twisted multiply strands. However, when making a multi-ply strand from several twisted multi-ply strands, the direction of rotation of the twister-winder mechanism may be the reverse of the direction of twist in the several strands. This reversal may be accomplished by reversing the motor 50. In other words, an S twist may be followed by a Z twist, and a Z twist by an S twist, in order to equalize the stresses set up in the yarns by the drying of the coatings while the yarns set under tension. If all the yarns in a multi-ply strand were given alike twist, the resultant cord 5. would coil, i. e., would not lay straight, hence would be difficult to handle.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that variations and modifications thereof may be made without departing from the underlying principles of'the invention. It is desired, therefore, by the following claims, to include within the scope of the invention, all such variations and modifications by which sustantially the results of the invention may be obtained through the use of substantially the same or equivalent means.

I claim:

1. Strand twisting and winding mechanism comprising a support, an elongated arm, means for mounting said arm on said support for rotation upon an axis intermediate the ends of said arm, a spool mounted on said arm for rotational and axial movement on an axis perpendicular to the axis of said arm, means for cyclically moving said spool axially in opposite directions through a total distance substantially equal to the length of the strand receiving portion of the said spool, the axis of movement of said spool being centered on the axis of said arm and power operated means for simultaneously rotating said arm and said spool on their respective axes and for moving said spool axially.

2. A twister-winder assembly comprising, in combination, a support; a motor on the support; means connecting said motor with a source of electricity; an arm mounted on said support to rotate in a horizontal plane; mechanism coupling the motor with said rotatable arm to rotate the arm; a spool rotatably mounted on said arm; a spool-winding motor mounted on said arm; means to conduct electrical energy to the last-mentioned motor while the arm is rotating; and mechanism on said arm to move the spool slowly back and forth along its axis of rotation while spool-rotation and rotation of said arm continue, said mechanism being power-driven by the lastmentioned motor.

3. A twister-winder assembly comprising, in combination, a support; a variable speed reversible electric motor on the support; means connecting said motor with a source of electricity; an arm mounted on said support to rotate in a horizontal plane; mechanism coupling said motor with said rotatable arm to rotate the arm at the desired speed and in the desired direction; a spool rotatably mounted on said arm; means to rotate said arm about an axis at right angles to the axis of rotation of the spool; spool-reciprocating mechanism adapted to move the spool along its own axis in opposite directions to insure even winding of strands on the spool; an electric spool-winding motor mounted on said arm; means on said support and said spool to rotate said spool on its own axis whatever 1 its position during reciprocation; and mechanism connecting the last-mentioned motor with said spool-reciprocating mechanism.

4. A twister-winder assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said arm is supported for rotation on a vertically extending hollw-tubular shaft, the axis of rotation of said spool and the axis of said tubular shaft lying in a common vertical plane, the upper end of said tubular shaft terminating short of said spool, the strand to be wound on said spool being caused to travel in a straight line through said tubular shaft and arm.

5. A twister-winder assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the means to conduct electricity to the lastmentioned motor includes a pair of wires connected to a source of electricity; a pair of brushes electrically con= nected to the said pair of wires; a brush holder mounted on-said support and supporting said brushes; a commutator fixed to rotate with said arm, said commutator including two insulated conductor rings; said brushes contacting the peripheries of said conductor rings; and conductors electrically connecting said conductor rings with said lastmentioned motor.

6. A twister-winder assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the mechanism connecting the last-mentioned motor with said spool includes a speed-reducing unit driven by said motor, a shaft driven by said unit and having a non-circular portion, said spool being mounted on and rotated by said non-circular shaft portion and being reciprocable along the axis of said shaft portion while being rotated; a spool-reciprocating mechanism including a cam-follower plate fixed to one end of the spool, a rotary cam bearing on its edge against the face of the cam-follower plate, means supporting the cam on said arm so that said cam may rotate, and gearing connecting said shaft with said cam so as to drive the cam by power from the last-mentioned motor but at a greatly reduced speed; a coil spring being mounted on said shaft and bearing against said spool to hold the cam-follower plate in contact with the edge of the cam.

7. The invention defined in claim 6, wherein the spool and cam-follower plate are so located relative to the vertical axis of rotation of said assembly that the cam-follower plate is held pressed against the cam by action of centrifugal force arising from rapid rotation of the assembly.

8. Strand twisting and winding mechanism comprising an elongated arm, means to support said arm for rotation on an axis intermediate the ends thereof, a strand winding assembly, means to mount said strand winding assembly on said arm for rotational and axial movement on an axis perpendicular to the axis of said arm, means for simultaneously rotating said arm and said strand winding assembly on their respective axes and means for limiting axial movement of said strand winding assembly to a range in which centrifugal force is exerted on the said assembly in a constant direction throughout a period of rotation of said arm including cyclically operable means to move the said assembly axially at uniform velocity in opposition to the centrifugal force exerted thereon to one limit of said range and for retarding the rate of movement thereof to the other limit under the influence of centrifugal force to the said uniform velocity.

9. A strand twisting and winding mechanism as defined in claim 8 wherein the cyclically operable means comprises a cam to move said strand winding assembly axially at a uniform velocity in a direction opposed to the direction centrifugal force is exerted thereon and to retard movement of said assembly in the direction of application of centrifugal force to the aforementioned uniform velocity and means is provided to establish a drive connection between said cam and the means for simultaneously rotating said arm and strand winding assembly.

10. Strand twisting and winding mechanism comprising an elongated arm, means to support said arm for rotation on an axis intermediate the ends thereof, a strand winding assembly, means to mount said strand winding assembly on said arm for rotational and axial movement on an axis perpendicular to the axis of said arm, means for simultaneously rotating said arm and said strand winding assembly on their respective axes and means to limit axial movement of said strand winding assembly to a range in which the center of gravity thereof is located off center in the same direction with respect to the axes of said arm so that the said assembly is centrifugally urged in a constant direction throughout a period of rotation of said arm including a cam rotatable on an axis perpendicular to the axis of the said assembly against which said assembly is abuttingly engaged by centrifugal force and a spring to lightly press said assembly into engagement with said cam when centrifugal force is not operative thereon.

11. Strand twisting and win-ding mechanism comprising an elongated arm, means to support said arm for rotation on an axis intermediate the ends thereof, a strand winding assembly, means to mount said strand winding assembly on said arm for rotational and axial movement on an axis perpendicular to the axis of said arm so that centrifugal force will be applied to the said assembly throughout a period of rotation of the said arm, means for applying a force to said strand winding assembly effective in conjunction with the centrifugal force exerted thereon to movesaid strand winding assembly axially between predetermined limits at a uniform velocity, a spool fed back and forth by axial movement of said strand winding assembly at a velocity and along an axis to cause strand moving toward the same on an axis coinciding in direction with the direction of the axis of said arm to be Wound in uniform layers on said spool, and means for simultaneously operating said axial force applying means and r0 tating said arm and said strand winding assembly upon their respective axes so that strand will be twisted prior to being wound on said spool.

12. Strand twisting and winding mechanism as define-:1 in claim 11 wherein said axial force applying means and the means for rotating said arm and said strand winding assembly are reversely operable and reversible power means is providied for operating the said arm rotating mechanism in reverse directions at the option of an operator.

13. Strand twisting and winding mechanism comprising an elongated arm, means to support said arm for rotation on an axis intermediate the ends thereof, a strand winding assembly, means to mount said strand winding assembly on said arm for rotational and axial movement on an axis perpendicular to the axis of said arm so that centrifugal force will be applied to the said assembly throughout a period of rotation of said arm, means for controlling axial movement of said strand winding as sembly when centrifugal force is applied thereto to effect axial movement of the said assembly between predetermined limits at uniform velocity including a spring acting in one direction on the said assembly and positively driven means acting in the opposite direction, a spool rotated and fed back and forth by rotary and axial movement of said strand winding assembly at a position to wind strand thereon along an axis coinciding in direction with the direction of the axis of said arm and means for simultaneously operating the means for controlling axial movement of the strand winding assembly and for re tating said arm and the said assembly upon their respective axes at velocities relative to each other to cause strand to be wound in uniform layers on said spool and to be twisted prior to being wound on said spool.

No references cited. 

